Lorraine T. (mysterylover) reviewed The Mark Twain Murders (Beth Austin, Bk 1) on + 318 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
An academic mystery that takes place on the campus of a University. Prof. Beth Austin is the protagonist. These are good mysteries with likeable characters. Only 3 in the series, I believe, but all good.
Helpful Score: 2
solving mysteries through the echoes of literature-the perfect job for an English Professor! Set on campus. Very well-crafted mystery-first in a series.
Helpful Score: 1
This really gets 2.5 stars for me (rounded down to 2), because I was able to finish it, and found it interesting enough, but it really lacked something. I could not get into the characters, and the literary references all over the book were mostly over my head. The mystery was okay, convoluted enough to have an interesting resolution, but the investigation felt amateurish considering one of the protagonists was supposed to be an FBI agent. What's an FBI agent doing investigating the theft of books from a university anyway, even if they are valuable? If he'd been called in after the murders, maybe, but it comes across as really contrived to me. Murder by karate chop to the neck also came across as corny even if it is plausible. And the attempt at romance felt gratuitous and limp. I picked this up because it was supposedly nominated for several awards for best first novel but it was disappointing.
Jane C. B. (janebbooks) reviewed The Mark Twain Murders (Beth Austin, Bk 1) on + 86 more book reviews
A literary mystery.
Great Book. This auspicious debut mystery will please readers who enjoy an academic or library milieu and abundant literary allusions. The ingenious plot involves a group of eccentric English-department faculty members, a handsome FBI agent, plagiarism, thefts of valuable books from the library, and, of course, Mark Twain. It's a well-written, literate novel, and the two sleuths, amateur and professional, are likable, intelligent characters. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the sequels
